I am not usually one to go in for strict race preparation. I drink a glass of wine the evening before and I often go to bed too late. However, on race morning, I like to be organised with my kit prepared the night before, give myself plenty of time for the journey and take nutrition with the start of the race in mind. Even so, as it did last Sunday, it can still all go wrong! 7,000 riders, glorious sunshine and stuck in a pen for an hour and a half waiting for the start combined in sun burn, a trip to the loo when the gun went off and then having to lift my bike over several barriers to re-join my pen. Having lost my group of riders, I then started the 82 mile race with a 5 mile TT to catch up.

which left me drinking a lot of soup and huddling under blankets for several days.

Well done to Marietta Zang who finished 13th overall in a cracking time of 1:16. Marietta is getting faster every triathlon. Laurel Burton finished less than 4 mins behind Marietta in 23rd place overall and Laurel also completed Walden Tri earlier in the month.

Sorry ladies! Thank you for the heads up. It also got me thinking about what some of our female members have been up to. Now, I know a lot of men are 'very hands on' and even cook the dinner (and wash up) but I'm often inspired by women who manage to train, juggle work, look after the homestead and often have to fit childcare into the equation too. In fact, planning the week ahead trying to contend with all of this is often a challenge in itself!

This week I have been inspired by....

Laurel Burton knocking out two triathlons in a month...boom!

Hazel Turton, who has ridden a crazy amount of miles whilst participating in London Revolution, an event I wasn't even aware of until this year. It sounds an absolute bonkers event...over 180 miles round the capital with an overnight camp halfway. Needless to say, I can't wait to do it next year and I'm going to drag Kirsty Gill with me! A fantastic achievement Hazel, well done.

Sarah Switzer who did a remarkable 10k run at HBO last weekend, four months after having Martha. Yes, that's right, four months! This puts my huffing and puffing 20mins runs into perspective as I have struggled to get back into it. This is testament to Sarah's consistency and attitude to training and to just to get out there and do it!

Claire Powell, who passed me like I was going backwards on Sunday, absolutely beasting up a hill and left me eating dust.....4 hrs into her ride. Claire, you will have to sloooowwwww down. You're making Russell look bad.

So well done ladies all round! I hope some of you will be able to make the TTs that are coming up and good luck all who are competing this weekend.

One special mention, to the super Andy Bryant who took part in the European Age Group Champs in Rimini last weekend, finishing 15th in his Age Group with a 1:36 half marathon to finish. Great results Andy and hope the recovery and build up goes well for your next race.

Finally, I know a lot of women manage to fit in training because they have very supportive families, friends, husbands and so on...and that is hugely important. That is why I am leaving Danny to do the washing up when he comes in ...

At the moment I am suffering from some horrible throat infection bug and I am feeling weak and pathetic. Therefore, I have not been very industrious but other members of the club certainly have.

We had a great troop of athletes make their mark at the Newmarket Triathlon last Sunday. Congratulations to Charlie Passfield who finished in 3rd place in an excellent time of 54:23. I would have loved to have seen the little battle between Simon Page and Bradley Morris who finished within 1 second of each other and 14th and 15th place overall. With the addition of Adam Wardle, Nikky and Mark Coutts, Jill Whelan and Russ Powell we had quite a team. I especially loved the fact that Russell's wife Clare, then dragged him out on a fairly long bike ride after ... obviously completing a triathlon is not an impressive enough feat to warrant an afternoons rest in the Powell household. I hope Russell appreciated the extra training!

A special congrats to George Peasgood taking the National title with his PT4 at the British Championships in Llanelli last weekend. Great news George.

Press
Now race season is well underway, we would to love publicise your achievements. Please send your results, comments and especially any pictures, to Vince Legg at: vandclegg@yahoo.co.uk

Vince is happy to collate the club activities and send in a report for WT. There are deadlines of Monday and Tuesday lunch time for the local papers, but if you have missed the deadline don't panic. Let Vince know and the papers will often print a race report the week after. This is important for the life of the club but it also is a great memento to have of an enjoyable event.

One of the first triathlons of the year was our own WT which was a great day last Sunday. A huge well done to all those on the race committee who have worked so hard on it, not to mention having to strive to overcome a few added challenges from last minute road works and a change of bike course!

I loved marshalling and seeing a lot of folks tackle a triathlon, challenging themselves and in nearly every case, displaying a huge smile as they tackled the rolling bike course. We do have a few notable performances from club members especially the fiercely competitive and coveted coach relay competition. This has really heated up with a controversial win from Phil T and Brendan with a little outside help from a rather able cyclist! I hope no money was put down for a win Phil?

Our own Howard Williams did pretty pleasing job too with 7th overall and definitely won the nicest bike award. Simon Page finished 5th (fresh from 9th place at Ashdon run the weekend before) and Michael Buchallet in his first triathlon, managed a very speedy 3rd place. Hmmm... perhaps Michael is developing a love for swimming after all?

Leon Bozianu took part in his first senior triathlon and had a cracking race finishing 1st in AG and 6th overall. And for the first time I can think of, we had a husband and wife both compete - well done to Mark and Nikki Coutts. We had a number of our WT Juniors take part which was fantastic to see.

On the same day, we had another WT Junior take part at St Neots which hosted the British Age Group Sprint Triathlon and Zac Deller, in his first open water race, finished 46th place overall in very fierce competition. Congratulations Zac.

Catch Ups!

A few weeks ago, we also had our three athletes take part in treacherous conditions near Madrid for the European Duathlon Championships. Very disappointingly, Pete T came off on the bike. Even with seasoned competitors like Pete, this is a risk in wet conditions, though I am told he is made a speedy recovery. Hope you are fully recovered Pete. Charlie Passfield, now an experienced international athlete finished 5th in his under 20 category and Michael Buchellet finished 15th in the 40 - 44 AG.

In the build up to the London Marathon, Teresa P had to pull out due to a suspected stress fracture which I know was hugely disappointing but I'm glad to see Teresa recovering so well and fingers crossed you will be running again soon! A big congratulation to Colin Pryor who completed it a good margin under 4 and a half hours. I was trying to catch up with Colin at one point but he was literally travelling faster than the London underground that day!

Now race season is hotting up, I look forward to seeing more of your results and achievement.

Jess Hudson and Steve Kidman took part in the nice try Anglian Water Duathlon last Sunday. This was a European Sprint distance qualifier and so competition was fierce. Steve finished in a very credible 1:28.27 with a speedy bike split under 37 mins. This was a fantastic effort considering Steve's training was limited in the build up to this event. what you can do even when things don't go to plan.